Tang Wei facts for kids

Quick facts for kids Tang Wei
汤唯
Tang in 2022
Born	(1979-10-07) 7 October 1979 (age 45) Hangzhou, Zhejiang, China
Other names	Rebecca Tang
Citizenship	Chinese (Hong Kong)
Education	Central Academy of Drama
Occupation	Actress
Years active	1998–present
Agent	Edko Films Ltd. (China) Creative Artists Agency (US)
Notable work	..., Caution Decision to Leave
Spouse(s)	Kim Tae-yong ​ (m. 2014)​
Children	1
Awards	Full list
Chinese name
Traditional Chinese	湯唯
Simplified Chinese	汤唯
Transcriptions Standard Mandarin Hanyu Pinyin Tāng wéi

Tang Wei (simplified Chinese: 汤唯; traditional Chinese: 湯唯; pinyin: Tāng Wéi; Hangul: 탕웨이; born 7 October 1979) is a Chinese actress. She rose to international fame for her role in Golden Lion-winning ..., Caution (2007) by Ang Lee, and gained further acclaim for her performances in Late Autumn (2010), Finding Mr. Right (2013), The Golden Era (2014), Long Day's Journey into Night (2018), and Decision to Leave (2022). Tang is the first and only non-Korean to be honored as the Best Actress at the Baeksang Art Awards (twice), Blue Dragon Film Awards, Chunsa Film Art Awards and Buil Film Awards. She is also the first Asian actor to have won the Trophée Chopard, which she received at the 2008 Cannes Film Festival.

Tang has appeared on multiple instances in Forbes China Celebrity 100 list, ranking 72rd in 2008, 70th in 2013, 38th in 2014, and 55th in 2015.

Life and career

1979–2005: Early life and career beginnings

Tang was born in Hangzhou, Zhejiang. She is the only child of a former stage actress and painter. In an interview, she explained that she often travelled around China and learned to paint, adding that she was influenced by her parents. Tang graduated from a local vocational high school in her hometown in 1996, where her teachers described her as "athletic" and a "good student who always did her homework". She had no plans to become famous; she originally aspired to become an archaeologist or lawyer. Tang made the decision to enter the entertainment industry after doing some modelling in 1997 and played a minor role in the TV series Chinese Female Football. She graduated from the Central Academy of Drama where she majored in directing.

Shortly after her university graduation, Tang met Stan Lai during one of his trips to China. He was impressed by the actress, and was quoted as saying, "The number of stars may not be good actors, a lot of good actors may not be good stars, but Tang Wei was fortunate to have done it." He proceeded to recommend her to several directors and was thus cast in more roles, although she was relatively unknown outside her hometown in China at this time. Nonetheless, Tang starred in a TV series, Policewoman Swallow (2004) and a brief university drama, Che Guevara (2004). After working with a more diverse group of actresses, she also appeared in TV dramas Sons and Daughters of the Red Cross (2004), Leaving Seafront Street (2005), East Meets West (2005), Born in the 60s (2006) and Silent Tears.

2009–11: Return to the screen

..... For her role, Tang honed her Cantonese, which she had picked up during her school days in Shenzhen, Guangdong. .....

From November 2009 to March 2010, Tang filmed alongside Hyun Bin in Late Autumn (2010), directed by Kim Tae-yong. The film was shot in Seattle, Washington. Tang's performance won over South Korean audiences and made her the only non-Korean to win the Baeksang Awards for Best Actress.

In September 2010, it was announced that she was to appear in the CCP tribute film The Founding of a Party, playing the role of Tao Yi, an early girlfriend of Mao Zedong. However, her scenes were cut out in the theatrical version, allegedly at the request of Mao Zedong's grandson, Mao Xinyu. .....

Tang returned to mainstream cinema with two major films; Speed Angels, a car-racing flick directed by Jingle Ma, and Dragon, a martial arts epic directed by Peter Chan. Though Speed Angels was a commercial flop, Dragon was successful and was named the eighth best movie of 2012 according to Time magazine.

2013–present: Career resurgence

In 2013, Tang starred opposite actor Wu Xiubo in the Xue Xiaolu-directed romantic comedy Finding Mr. Right. The sleeper hit grossed $85 million at the box office in China and Tang received rave reviews for her performance. She won Best Actress at 21st Beijing College Student Film Festival.

Tang was then cast to play writer Xiao Hong in Ann Hui's biopic The Golden Era, which closed at the Venice International Film Festival. Though highly anticipated, the film received mixed reviews and failed at the box office. However, her performance has received high praise from domestic critics.

..... She also starred in A Tale of Three Cities, based on the wartime experiences of Jackie Chan's parents. During the shooting of The Tale of Three Cities in Shanghai, Tang fell victim to a telecommunications scam and was swindled out of $34,692 (210,000 yuan).

Tang and Wu teamed up again to film the sequel to Finding Mr. Right (2013), titled Book of Love (2016), which was a commercial success. With this film, she was nominated as the Best Actress in Hong Kong Film Awards for the sixth time, setting a record for nominations, but did not win the award in history.

In 2017, Tang was cast as the female lead of Long Day's Journey Into Night, directed by Bi Gan. The film was screened in the Un Certain Regard section at the 2018 Cannes Film Festival.

In 2019, Tang returned to the small screen with the historical drama Empress of the Ming. The same year, she starred in the film The Whistleblower directed by Xue Xiaolu.

In 2022, Tang starred in the South Korean mystery-romance film Decision to Leave, directed by Park Chan-Wook, to critical acclaim. In April 2022, the film was selected to compete for the Palme d'Or at the 2022 Cannes Film Festival, where Park Chan-wook won Best Director. For her role as a Chinese immigrant to South Korea who is suspected of murder, Tang became the first non-Korean honored as the Best Actress at the Baeksang Art Awards, which was for the second time, Blue Dragon Film Awards, Chunsa Film Art Awards and Buil Film Awards.

Endorsements

In 2011, Tang became brand ambassador for Japanese cosmetics brand SK-II. Since 2015, she has been the global brand ambassador of SK-II. In August 2021, Tang became the global face of the SK-II's "My PITERA™ Story" skincare campaign, along with Ni Ni, Ayase Haruka and Chloe Grace Moretz.

In 2013, Tang became the global face of Piaget's rose jewelry collection campaign. Since 2014, she has been selected as global spokesperson for Swiss luxury watch brand Rado.

Since 2021, British makeup and skincare brand Charlotte Tilbury has chosen Tang as its very first global makeup ambassador. In 2022, she was also become the first global brand ambassador for watches and jewelry brand Lola Rose.

Since 2022, Tang has served as a global brand ambassador for Spanish luxury fashion house Loewe. She was the global face that July for Loewe's pre-fall 2022 collection campaign along with Anthony Hopkins, Jessie Buckley, Josh O'Connor, Kaia Gerber and more. In November of that year, Tang was named as the global face of the Loewe's spring/summer 2023 collection campaign along with Taylor Russell, Luca Guadagnino, Naomi Ackie, Chloë Sevigny and more. In January 2023, she became the global face of the Loewe's Year of Rabbit Collection campaign. In August 2023, Tang starred as the global face of the Loewe's Womenswear Fall-Winter 2023 campaign along with Taylor Russell that shot by British fashion photographer David Sims.

In May 2023, Chopard, a Swiss brand for luxury watches, jewelry and accessories, announced Tang as its brand ambassador following her attendance at the 76th Cannes Film Festival. Since September 2023, Chopard had announced Tang as its Global Brand Ambassador.

In November 2023, Tang has served as a global brand ambassador for British luxury fashion house Burberry.

Personal life

Tang had four public relationships before her marriage. Her first boyfriend was actor Zhu Yuchen. They met in 1995 as classmates at a vocational school in Hangzhou, and had a relationship between 1997 and 2000. Her second boyfriend was actor Tian Yu. The two met in 2004 while working on Policewoman Swallow (2004) and were in a relationship for three years. Her third boyfriend was Chen Yuli, the son of composer Chen Qigang; he was killed in a car accident on 4 September 2012 in Zurich. Her fourth boyfriend was Hu Jing (Victor Hu), a former talent show contestant and publicist. Hu was a friend of Chen Yuli and organized his memorial service, where he and Tang first met.

In 2014, Tang married South Korean film director Kim Tae-yong in the front yard of the home of Ingmar Bergman on the remote Swedish island of Fårö. A formal wedding ceremony was later held in Hong Kong, with only immediate family members as guests. In August 2016, Tang Wei gave birth to their daughter, Summer.

Filmography

Film

Television

Theater

Music video appearances

Awards and nominations

Other honors

• 2004 - Miss Universe China finalist
• 2007 - New York Times listed her as one of the Best 15 Performers in 2007
• 2007 - Variety's top 10 actors to watch
• 2022 - New York cinema's Metrograph honors her with "Starring Tang Wei" throughout November

See also

In Spanish: Tang Wei para niños